Agar or agar - agar is a gelatinous substance, obtained from algae.

Agar is derived from the polysaccharide agarose, which forms the supporting structure in the cell walls of certain species of algae, and which is released on boiling. These algae are known as agarophytes and belong to the Rhodophyta (red algae) phylum.Agar is actually the resulting mixture of two components: the linear polysaccharide agarose, and a heterogeneous mixture of smaller molecules called agaropectin.

Applications in the food industry:

• Dairy industry:

Agar is used as a texture in dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, cream, confectionery, ice cream, etc.

Agar also create a suitable tissue, due to the low dosage, cost-effective compared to other systems as well.

• Confectionery and Chocolate:

Coatings prepared from agar (Topping) and dairy and non-dairy decorating the cake and chocolate (Icing) are commonly used.

• Jelly products:

Due to the gelling properties as a substitute for gelatin in jelly products such as pastilles, powder, jelly, jelly-ready (RTC) is used.